Things to do in Qingdao, China

You may find yourself in Qingdao someday and wonder what you can do. Well let me tell you, there is a lot of stuff.

The first place we went to was Laoshan Mountain. Better get in some good workouts on the stair climber because you are going to go up, up, up on stairs and then down, down the stairs.

They also have bridges that people put locks on and then throw away the key.

We then went to where they held the sailing competition during the 2008 Olympics. What...you didn't know that all events weren't in Beijing?

The symbol of Qingdao

There was a park next to the hotel that had some amusement park rides for the kids. It was a nice park.

I also went to the Temple of Mazu. Fisherman would go to her before going out to sea for good fortune and safe keeping.

You eat lots of seafood since it is right on the sea.

And you can go to the beach to enjoy the atmosphere.

Beer

Now that I have your attention, I thought I would write about the famous local Qingdao beer called TsingTao. You can buy it in the US. Qingdao was inhabited by Germans in the early 1900's and they wanted their beer so they brought in brewmasters from Germany to teach the Chinese how to make it. And that is how a Chinese beer (TsingTao is pronounced Qingdao) tastes like a light German beer from hops. It is really tasty and it is served cold (one of the few drinks in China served that way). We toured their museum and of course what tour is complete without samples.




Isn't this a great fountain?












They even had bottles of the beer at the buffet at the hotel. You could take as many as you wanted to the table.

Q is for Qingdao

In June I am going to Qingdao, China for a work trip. How perfect is that to find a letter Q without even having to try! So here's a few facts about Qingdao.

Qingdao is a major seaport southeast of Beijing. It was named China’s most livable city in 2011 and is home to the famous Tsingtao Brewery. There are 8 million residents. During the 2008 Olympics, all sailing events took place along the Qingdao shoreline. There is a strong German influence to much of the architecture because of the German interest in the area in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Due to its proximity to the sea, fresh seafood is in most restaurants.

Do you know how long it will take me to get there? It will take three flights and about 24 hours. You lose a day flying there and when you fly back, you gain it back. So the 24 hours it takes to get back looks like you are gone only about 12 hours. I had better learn how to sleep on a plane because one of the flights is 14-16 hours long. Yikes.